Air conditioning mixing unit



Oct. 11, 1955 s. E. LYMAN AIR CONDITIONING MIXING UNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed NOV. 6, 1952 INVENTOR. SAMUELE. LYM AN BY WWW A-r- 1- o R N Ev sOct. 11, 1955 Filed Nov. 6, 1952 S. E. LYMAN AIR CONDITIONING MIXINGUNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

SAMUELELYMAN BY fMM A-r-r o a NEYS Oct 1955 s. E.LYMAN AIR CONDITIONINGMIXING UNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 6, 1952 INVENTOR.

SAMUELELYMAN ATTQ RNEYs Oct. 11, 1955 s. E. LYMAN AIR connxnoumc MIXINGUNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed NOV. 6. 1952 INVENTOR. SAMUEL ELYMAN BY WMATT United States Patent AIR CONDITIONING MIXING UNIT Samuel E. Lyman,Elizabeth, N. 1., assignor to Bueusod- Stacey, Incorporated, New York,N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application November 6, 1952, SerialNo. 319,105

6 Claims. c1. 9s -ss This invention relates to air conditioningapparatus and especially to. a novel arrangement for mixing conditionedair before it is distributed into a room or zone and particularly to athermostatically controlled damper organization.

In air conditioning systems of the type having individual regulation ineach room being serviced, upset of existing air flow conditions isaccompanied by objectionable noises. Such noises are especiallypronounced in high pressure air systems when a closed air duct is openedat a time when the other air duct is already open because of the greatincrease in total volume of air flowing into the room.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide air control damperarrangements which may be ambient temperature operated and willproportion cold and warm air properly and noiselessly.

A further object of this invention is to provide simplified damperarrangements which require fewer parts and which are readily removablefor adjustment and maintenance.

The present invention is primarily intended for use in a high pressureair conditioning system since it is particularly useful in such systems.However, it is possible to use the present system in a low pressure airconditioning system. When high presure air is used, pressure reducingdistributing units are required in each zone to be conditioned forreducing the pressure of the air supplied from a central airconditioning apparatus before it is admitted or distributed into thezone. The sizes of the ducts supplying the air from such a central airconditioning apparatus to distributing units are much smaller in highpressure air conditioning systems than in low pressure air conditioningsystems. For example the sizes of high pressure air supply ducts canhave a maximum size of about 2 inches to 6 inches in diameteror itsequivalent. Furthermore, in high pressure systems the pressure isusually more than approximately 2 inches of water static pressure andthe potential velocity of air in the supply ducts may be between about1500 and 3500 feet per minute, although a system may operate with valueswhich vary somewhat from these given and still be considered a highpressure system.

In one aspect of this invention, a pair of ducts can supply hot and coldconditioned air from central air conditioning apparatus to individualair distributing units in each zone to be conditioned. Each unitincludes a chamber wherein the hot and cold air supplied from suchcentral source are mixed and wherein the pressure of the air supplied isreduced before it is distributed into the zone. The proportionateamounts of warm and cold air are controlled by a damper arrangement ineach air distributing unit. Preferably, the damper arrangement isthermostatically regulated, but it may be responsive to other variables.The discharge ends of the warm and cold air supply ducts are connectedwith the air control damper arrangement by clamping members which holdthe ducts in tight connection with the damper arrangeice ment. Thelatter includes a duct portion having apertured walls for admittingfluid within the duct portion to the distributing chamber and a dampermember movable in said portion from a position closing one of the supplyducts and opening the other to a position closing the open duct andopening the closed duct. Detachable supporting elements normally holdthe air control damper arrangement in operative position between thedischarge ends of the supply ducts, but may be readily detached toremove said arrangement for purposes of adjustment and also to renderthe discharge ends of the warm and cold air ducts accessible forcleaning.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of single plunger oroperating rod having dual dampers thereon for controlling flow of warmand cold 'air from their respective supply ducts. In one embodiment ofthe invention, an open damper can be partially closed before a closeddamper is open so as to prevent increase in the,

total volume of air admitted by the dampers from the supply ducts overthat volume admitted by the open damper in its fully open position. Theplunger may be operated by a suitable damper motor which may be aconventional air motor or an electric motor. The damper motor can becontrolled by an ambient temperature or other condition responsivemechanism. I These and other objects, advantages and features of theinvention will become apparent from the following description of thedrawings which are merely exemplary.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a zone control airdistributing unit, one of the air dampers being shown in fully openposition with the other damper shown in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the unit partially broken away to showstructure;

Fig. 3 is a plan view taken along line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the cold air duct taken along the line4-4 of Fig.1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation direction of arrow 5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of damper arrangement;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section through the duct of the air control damperarrangement of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a schematic drawing of the distributing unit.

Referring to Figs. 1-5, an air distributing chamber 20 has openings 21and 22 in side walls thereof for receiving warm and cold air supplyducts 23 and 24, respectively, which are connected to a central airconditioning unit (not shown). An outlet opening 20a is formed in thetop wall of the chamber for discharging mixed air into the zone or roombeing conditioned. Such can be con nected in a system such asillustrated in copending applications S. N. 158,840 (now Patent Number2,620,983) or 240,428, filed April 28, 1950, and respectively. The ducts23 and 24 may be soldered to the walls as indicated at 23a and 24a ormay be held otherwise in sealed relation with the chamber 20. Thedischarge end of each duct includes a corrugated sleeve portion 25 whichfits snugly on the soldered portion of the duct and gives the duct somedegree of flexibility and resilience within the air distributingchamber. While the ducts are shown to be substantially the same size,the cold air duct is normally larger than the warm air duct. Thedischarge ends of the warm and cold air ducts 23 and 24 are connected toan air control damper assembly generally indicated at 26 which controlsthe relative amounts of cold and warm air admitted from the supply ductsto the air distributing chamber.

The assembly 26 includes hollow box-like member 27 supported on a wallof the air distributing chamber 20 in a manner described hereinafter, aduct 28 having shown in Fig. 1, parts of the supporting as viewed in theAugust 4, 1951,

opposite open ends in communication with the warm and cold air supplyducts, respectively, and a damper member 29 movable in the duct 28. Duct28 has side wall apertures 28a for admitting fluid from within the ductto the air distributing chamber 20. The damper member 29 is made up ofadamper 30 for controlling air flow from warm air duct 23 into airdistributing chamber 20 through the duct 28, and a damper 31 forcontrolling air flow from cold air duct 24 into air distributing chamber20 through duct 28. Both dampers are adjustably mounted on a singleplunger or operating rod 32 by nuts 34. A member 35 may be used to spacethe dampers relative to eachother. Plunger 32 is operated byathermostatically controlled motor 37 which is supported by member 27.Such may be either a conventional air motor or an electric motor. In theform shown, the thermostatically controlled motor 37 may have a pressurerelay 38 connected to a suitably disposed thermostat 38a to control theposition of plunger 32 and damper member 29.

The box-like member 27 is detachably mounted on a sidewall of'thechamber ordistributing box 20 by a brace 39- fixed by rivets 40 to oneside of member 27 and having slots 41 at opposite endsthereof which opento opposite longitudinal edges of the brace. The brace is swingableontoa pair of spaced studs 42 extending horizontally from brackets 43fixed on the side wall of the chamber and fitting into slots 41. Thestuds are threaded at both ends toreceive nuts 44 on both sides of thebracket flange 45 to hold the brace in a fixed position in the chamber.

The discharge end of the warm air duct registers with anopening 46 inone side of member 27. A cylindrical sleeve 47- telescopically fits intosaid discharge end and has a substantially outward extending S-shapedflange 48 at the free end thereof. A sealing ring 49 is carried by theouter end of the said flange and is adapted to fit around a raised lip50 bordering opening 46. A clamp 51 encircles sleeve 47 and hasdiametrically opposed Y-shaped lugs 52, only one of which can be seen inFig. 2. which receive studs 53 extending from andfixed to member 27 Nuts54 on studs 53 can be adjusted to bear againstthe arms of the lugs forurging the sealing ring 49 into contact with the member 27 andaround lip46 so as to provide an air tight connection between the warm air ductand the member-27. Likewise, nuts 54 may be easily adjusted to releasethe lugs 52 and-clamp 51 so as todisconnect the warm air ductfrommember'27.

The discharge end of the cold air duct registers with one end of duct 28which inturn has its other end in registration with a second opening 55'in another side of member 27. A cylindrical sleeve 56 telescopicallyfits into the cold air duct and has a substantially outward 28. Theother end of duct 28 fits around a raisedlip 58 bordering opening 55. Aclamp 59 encircles sleeve 56and has a pair of diametrically opposedY-shaped lugs 60 which receive the threadedend of eye bolts 61. Hookbolts 62 secured to member 27 engage the heads of eye bolts 61.Adjustable nuts 63 on the threaded ends of eye bolts 61 can be turned tobear against the arms of lugs. 60, thus urging the sleeve 56 into tightengagement with duct 28 and duct 28 into tight connection with member 27around'lip 58. Here again, nuts 63 may be turned to release the eyebolts from clamp 59 to disconnect cold air duct from the damperarrangement.

In operation, the ducts 23 and 24 can supply warm and cold air,respectively, to opposite ends of duct 28.

Apertures 29a admit air into the distributing chamber 20 fromthe duct28. The position of the dampers 30 and 31. controls the proportionateamounts of cold and warm air admitted from these supply ducts to thedistributing chamber 20. When one wishes to-clean the warm and cold airsupply ductsor replace the duct 28 with another duet having differentsized apertures, the damper assembly is readily removed by disconnectingthe discharge ends of each supply duct from the damper arrangement 26 asdescribed above and by subsequently rotating brace 39 out of engagementwith studs 42. Such adjustment, cleaning, or replacement may then bemade. Thereafter, the parts can be easily reassembled in a manner whichis believed apparent from the foregoing description.

Referring now to Figs. 6 and 7, a modified damper arrangement is shownwhich comprises a plunger having a pair of spaced abutments 71 and 72thereon. Abutment 71 is adjustably movable along plunger 70 and is heldin a fixed position by set screw 73. Abutment 72 is fixed in position bycap screw 74. Between the abutments a pair of dampers 75 and 76 areslidably mounted on the plunger. The dampers are nor mally urged apartand into contact with their respective adjacent abutment by a spring 77.When the plunger is moved in one direction, for example, when theplunger is moved downwardly to open damper 75 and close damper 76, theconstruction described permits of closing damper 76 before damper 75reaches its fully open position and of subsequent over-travel of theplunger 70' until damper 75 is fully opened. During the overtravelmovement of the plunger, spring 77 yields under the force of theabutment 71 acting against the spring through damper 75 and is in astate of compression when damper 75 is fully open. When the plunger isthen moved upwardly to open closed damper 76, abutment 71, which moveswith the plunger, tends to move away from damper 75. However, as thespring 77 is released, it simultaneously moves damper 75 upward with theabutment 71 and away from damper 76 so that warm air duct is partiallyclosed before abutment 72 opens damper 76. Likewise, damper 75 closesbefore damper 76 becomes fully opened, and damper 76 is partially closedbefore damper 75 is opened. Such movement of an open damper from fullyopen position toward closed position before a closed damper is openedlimits the total volume of air admitted by the dampers in such a mannerthat the combined volume of air admitted from the two supply ducts neverexceeds that volume admitted by the open damper when in its fully openposition.

The sizes of the apertures 28a in the wall of duct 28 may increase, asshown in Fig. 7, toward the central portion of the wall so that theseapertures together with the dampers may effectively meter theconditioned air admitted from the cold and warm air ducts into the airdistributing chamber.

It will be understood that the foregoing detailed description and theaccompanying drawings are illustrative and that the improvements hereindisclosed may be embodied in various forms of construction within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an air distributing apparatus, the combination comprising an airdistributing chamber having air outlet connection means to a zone, anair mixing and proportioning device, a warm air supply duct and a coldair supply duct leading into said chamber and having connecting means tosaid device, said device including a duct communicating at opposite endswith said connecting means to the warm air and cold air supply ducts,respectively, and having a plurality of apertures in the side wallthereof to pass air from the respective ducts into the chamber, apower-operated rod, a pair of spaced abutments on said rod, a pair ofdamper elements extending across said duct communicating at oppositeends with the warm air and cold air supply ducts slidably carried on therod between said abutments and movable in said duct to varyproportionally the number of apertures open to the respective supplyducts, a spring normally urging said dampers apart and into contact withtheir respective adjacent abutments, said spring being yieldable to varythe spacing between the two dampers so that an open damper can be movedby 2. In an air conditioning apparatus for a zone, thecombinationcomprising an air distributing chamber having air outlet connectionmeans to said zone, confronting warm air and cold air inlet ports insaid chamher to admit warm air and cold air, respectively, into saidchamber, a warm air supply duct connected with said warm air inlet portand a cold air supply duct connected with said cold air inlet port, airflow control means including a tubular connection extending between saidinlet ports and having lateral aperture means to be traversed by airflowing from the inlet ports into said chamber, damper means extendingacross said tubular connection and movable in said tubular connection tovary proportionally the aperture means open to the respective ports, andambient temperature responsive thermostat control means connected withsaid damper means.

3. In an air conditioning apparatus for a zone, the combinationcomprising an air distributing chamber having air outlet connectionmeans to said zone, an air mixing and proportioning device in saidchamber removably secured to a side wall of said chamber, warm air andcold air supply ducts leading into said chamber and being detachablyconnected to said device, said device including an open-ended ductcommunicating at opposite ends with the warm and cold air supply ducts,respectively, and having a plurality of apertures in the side wallthereof to pass air from the respective ducts into the chamber, and adamper extending transversely across said open-ended duct and slidablealong the length of said open-ended duct to vary proportionally thenumber of apertures open to the respective supply ducts.

4. In an air conditioning apparatus for a zone, the combinationcomprising an air distributing chamber having air outlet connectionmeans to said zone, confronting warm and cold air inlet ports to admitwarm and cold air, respectively, into said chamber, a warm air supplyduct extending into said chamber and connected with said warm air inletport and a cold air supply duct extending into said chamber andconnected with said cold air inlet port, air flow control meansincluding an openended duct extending between and registering atopposite ends with the warm and cold air inlet ports, respectively, saidopen-ended duct having a plurality of apertures in the side wall thereoffor passing air from the respective supply ducts into said chamber, thesize of the apertures progressively increasing from the ends to thecenter of the duct, and damper means transversely located in saidopen-ended duct and movable in said open-ended duct to varyproportionally the number of apertures open to the respective ports.

5. In an air conditioning apparatus: for a zone, the combinationcomprising an air distributing chamber having air outlet connectionmeans to said zone, an air mixing and proportioning device in saidchamber, warm air and cold air supply ducts leading: into said chamberand having fluid connections with said device, said device including anopen-ended duct communicating at opposite ends with the warm and coldair supply ducts, respectively, and having a plurality of apertures inthe side wall thereof to pass air from the respective ducts into thechamber, a power-operated rod supported in said mixing and proportioningdevice and having spaced abutments thereon, a pair of dampers slidablycarried on the rod and between said abutments for movement between oneposition in which one of the dampers closes the warm air supply duct andthe other damper opens the cold air supply duct and another position inwhich said one damper opens the warm air supply duct and said otherdamper closes the cold air supply duct, and yieldable means between saiddampers normally holding said dampers in spaced relation against saidabutments on said plunger, said yieldable means being positioned to becompressed between the dampers as the rod moves in one direction to openfully one of said dampers after the other damper has been closed, sothat the open damper will be partially closed by such spring when therod is moved in the opposite direction before the closed damper isopened.

6. In an air conditioning apparatus: for a zone, the combinationcomprising an air distributing chamber having air outlet connectionmeans to said zone, a warm air supply duct and a cold air supply ductleading to said chamber, connecting means on the ends of said ducts toprovide spaced opposed and aligned warm air and cold air inlet portsrespectively, air flow control means including a tubular connectionextending between said ports and having a plurality of side wallapertures to be traversed by air flowing from said inlet ports into saidchamber, and damper means extending across said tubular connectionmovable rectilinearly in said tubular connection to vary proportionallythe number of apertures open to the respective ports.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 76,717Crane Apr. 14, 1868 194,782 Mihan Sept. 4, 1877 1,782,758 Gavin Nov. 25,1930 2,539,148 Malir, Jr. Jan. 23, 1951 2,620,983 Lyman Dec. 9, 1952FOREIGN PATENTS 297,955 Italy June 24, 1932 632,014 Great Britain Nov.15, 1949 649,447 Great Britain Jan. 24, 1951

